The art of the first sentence

Every piece you write has one job before it can do anything else: get the reader to the next line. The first sentence is not a summary or a throat-clear. It is a promise.

Start in motion

The strongest openings drop you somewhere already moving — a decision half-made, a question left hanging, a small concrete detail that implies a larger story. You do not need to explain the world first. Trust the reader to catch up.

The first sentence can't be written until the final sentence is written.

Cut the warm-up

Most first drafts begin one or two paragraphs before the real beginning. Find the sentence where the piece actually starts — where you got interested — and delete everything above it. It is almost always still there.

Then read it aloud. If you want to keep going, so will they.